China Trade Balance

China: Exports slow in October while imports pick up

November 10, 2011

Exports grew at the slowest pace since February and expanded 15.9% in October. The print came in below the 17.1% seen in September and fell short of market expectations of a 16.1% increase. On the other hand, imports added 28.7% over the same month last year, which came in well above the 20.9% rise recorded in September and overshot the 22.2% increase expected by the markets. The trade surplus widened from USD 14.5 billion in September to USD 17.0 billion in October, well below the USD 25.8 billion anticipated by market analysts. According to analysts, exports will continue to slow in the months ahead due to the deepening crisis in Europe, which is China's largest export market. On the other hand, the strong import figures suggest that the domestic economy still remains resilient.

Exports expanded 11.1% annually in January, coming in slightly above both December’s 10.9% increase and the 10.7% rise that market analysts had expected.
Meanwhile, imports surged to a 36.9% expansion over the same month last year in January, which overshot December’s 4.5% expansion.

The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI), published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP), fell slightly to 51.3 points in January from 51.6 points in December.

House prices in 70 large- and medium-sized cities rose 0.4% in December from the previous month, according to a weighted average index calculated by Thomson Reuters from data issued by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).